Week 1 Day 1: Feta and orange quinoa

Day 1...

 

I popped home for a few days last week and had the chance to visit my fabulous foodie friend Martha. When I asked on the day if I could bring a pudding she replied “yeah of course, although I’ve got no idea what I’m doing for mains yet!” Most people would be a little put off by this comment, but not with Martha… a couple of hours later I pitched up, raspberry torte in hand, to the sight of a garden table teaming with summer salads. How she does it I’ll never know, but it’s one of the many reasons why she will be sorely missed when she goes off to uni abroad this year!  So this salad is inspired by one of her creations, the perfect accompaniment to an afternoon of girly catch ups... or, as in my current case, the perfect packed lunch to eat on my break.

 

 

Ingredients:

100g Quinoa

2 Oranges

2tsp olive oil

Pinch salt

A few mint leaves, chopped small

½ a cucumber

Feta

 Method:

·Cook the quinoa according to the pack instructions.

·Zest and juice one of the oranges... I didn't have a zester so I used a serrated knife to remove strips of the outer peel  to then slice as small as possible (do not remove the pith as this is bitter.)

·Combine the juice and zest with the olive oil, mint leaves and a pinch of salt.

·Stir this dressing through the quinoa whilst it's still warm.

·Remove the peel of the second orange and cut the flesh into segments.

·Chop the feta and cucumber into bite size pieces.

·Combine the feta, cucumber and orange segments with the quinoa and serve with an extra drizzle of oil and a few more shredded mint leaves.